WOW: Exercise…for Quilters

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

I’ve never been super keen on fast paced exercise (or really, any exercise) and I don’t own any pieces of gym equipment. But as I get older I’m coming to realise that I really need to take control of my fitness levels so that I have the stamina and endurance to keep doing the things I love.

Unfortunately, most of the things I love, like quilting, involve sitting down. A lot of sitting down. I can get so involved in my quilting that I can sew for days on end, barely stopping.

This isn’t a quilting only problem but it certainly is something that affects a lot of quilters. And I’ve no doubt, other creative people as well.

My desire to quilt and the time I've invested in doing what I love has seen my fitness level plummet.

It didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen.

My love for creating has created a version of me that isn’t me at my best and isn’t me at my most productive.

I'm a member of so many great quilting groups, which i joined to better myself. But I'm not a member of any fitness groups, which I probably should be, for the same reason.

I’ve got to change that. I’m going to be a fit quilter. Not a tired quilter. Not a sit down to catch my breath quilter. Not a can't climb the hill quilter. I want to be ready for any adventure.

So I’ve started walking first thing in the morning, every morning. It’s my first step towards being healthier and living longer, so I can do more of what I love.

It’s my most important

Work In Progress.

What about you? Do your hobbies have an impact on your health? How do you find balance?

What's Your WOW ?

 

 

WOW: Winter WIP Progress

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Having my winter WIP project next to the sofa has definitely worked this week.

The nights have been cold and I've been working away at this WIP from last winter, my Puff Flower Afghan. Well, the green rounds are all done, now I only have 1x white round and then I'll join them up to be finished! It feels great to be getting through my DDs yarn stash and to end up with something useful and beautiful.




That's my Winter Nights WIP, but my other WIPs (there's too many to mention) are being neglected during the day as I have been planning the next BOM. I have a lot of quilt projects I can't quite finish for one reason or another, so I think I should slow down and get them done before moving to the next BOM, but I find I can't help myself, and once you're inspired to create, you just have to do it!

only two puff flowers left!


What's Your WOW?

 

Do You Love Roses?

On Sunday I went along to the Rose Society of Victoria Rose Show, "The Autumn Rose Spectacular" at Gardenworld Nursery. I love all flowers but roses are a particular favourite of mine. At the Show, I was pleased to meet the first female President of The Rose Society of Victoria, Veronica O'Brien. What a lovely woman!

 

She was kind enough to pose for a snap for my blog and of course I told her how much I loved flowers - in fact, I think most quilters do. I know so much of my own applique and original designs are floral based and I'll listen or watch almost anything garden and flower species related.

 

And it's got me to thinking about how unusual it is that none of my quilting groups have ever had (as far as I know) a Rose or Flower Society Guest Speaker. Have we? Have I missed it? I know that I would love to hear from someone like Veronica O'Brien guest speak about such a favourite topic of mine at meetings, would you?

 

What I really loved about this Show was how friendly and approachable it all was. I was actually expecting an outdoor show with roses hedged in groups, so I was suprised to see rose cuttings arranged in bottles on a large long table. What an excellent idea. I really enjoyed getting a good look at the variety displayed. As they were in bottles, I was able to pick up a few for a really close look or smell. So many caught my eye, I'd love to share the whole lot with you - but I'll limit myself for the sake of this blog post to the ones that really spoke to me:

WOW: Winter WIPs

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Now that the evenings are chilly, my mind turns to thoughts of my Winter WIP Stash. It's too gloomy in the evenings to get much quilting done, so I usually work my way through some knitting or crochet. My last knitted WIP was my super Ripple Afghan, which I love and get so much use from. I've decided that this winter, I will try to get through my next afghan which is a puff flower afghan.

 

I stopped this WIP after all the puff flowers were worked because I didn't have enough enough green yarn in the stash and went on a colour matching expedition. The green in question cannot be found so I have settled for a lighter green and think that overall, the variation of greens won't matter, and if it is noticeable, I'll call it a sun dappled effect! I do like to work with wool in the winter, it's so cosy. I don't know if the winter will be long enough for me to get it done, but I have put my knitting bag next to my armchair to keep me busy during the evenings! Hopefully that will remind me.

 

 

The greens don't match, but I don't mind anymore

Now I just have to dress a few hundred puff flowers in their green fields

and then lastly, add the white round and join it all together

 

 

What's your favourite seasonal WIP ?

 

 

Jenny & Bunny's Easter Blessings Miniatures

 

Congratulations to Jenny and Bunny who both received high votes over at the

Quilting Gallery Blog

 

with their miniature of my Easter Pattern "Easter Blessings". Both are so beautiful! And given that both Jenny and Bunny are almost finished their Forget Me Not Quilt tops, I'm super impressed that they found the time for my mini project this Easter.

 

Thanks for sharing your work Jenny and Bunny,

I love these little quilts!



 



Here's Jenny's

 

and Bunny's

 

They're both gorgeous, aren't they?

 

 

Jenny and Bunny are both members

of my Yahoo Bom Group, are you?

Membership is and always will be free. It's where I share my BOMs and where members can post images of, ask questions and discuss their work - which is a lot of fun and encouragement. Whether you're new to quilting or simply enjoy discussing your quilting progress, why not join us today?

 

 

 

Easter 2013

 

Yes, it's a chocloate mother hen with chicks. No, I won't be eating it, it's for decoration purposes only! Really!

I always love Easter, it's such an important time of year; a time of priorities, thankfulness, families and friends. It also reminds me that the year is a quarter over already, and those first three months just seem to go by faster and faster each year.

Whatever your plans are over this short break,

I wish you a beautiful Easter 2013

 

WOW: First Front Cover !!

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

 

I've made my first front cover! It wasn't expected - in fact I didn't even know about it. A friend let me know she'd seen my Pomegranate Wall Hanging Quilt in a sealed pack at the newsagents two weeks ago. Well, I went looking and didn't see a thing. 'hmm' I thought, 'she must be mistaken'. And then I forgot about it. I assumed that if a magazine re-published my project, that they might send me an email just letting me know. And as I hadn't heard anything, I didn't think anymore about it.

 

Then my DD stumbled across it while she was out of town in a somewhat obscure little newsagency.

 

'I'm pretty sure it's yours' she said on the phone

 

'what do you mean, pretty sure? Is it or isn't it?!'

(I mean, it is hanging in our lounge room!)

 

'Well, it's hard to say without a name on the front cover and its sealed in plastic...I can only see the top bits, I'll buy it anyway'

 

Oh yes, it's mine!

 

 

and it got me to thinking how easily I would have missed this magazine edition and that I've probably had another first front cover - and simply didn't know about it! For Australian readers, this magazine is out now and is sold in a 3x magazine pack for $9.95. It's not in every newsagent's (as I found out when I went around visiting as many as I could think of), but if this is a project you are interested in, it's a great price to pay for it. I haven't actually drafted this pattern for my own pattern shop (yet) and I do routinely get asked for it, so here it is!

 

 



  It was first published in Patchwork & Quilting, Applique Special, VOL 19 No 3

Unfortunately, I don't know what the year (3 or 4 years ago?) is as it isn't listed anywhere

(has anyone else noticed this about Quilting Magazines?)

What's Your WOW ?

 

 



WOW: Patiently Recovering

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays

 

Last week I fell over and hurt my knee and shin, I was bruised quite badly. Since then the bruising has spread, and whilst I could walk about fine (if a bit uncomfortably) right after the fall, this week I have been in bed with my leg propped up, waiting for the severe bruising to go down. My pain and swelling has actually got worse. It hurts more today then it did when it happened! The worst thing is sitting around when I have so much I'd rather be getting on with.

I did have a few visitors around yesterday to cheer me up and they brought chocolate and macaroons, so I can't complain.

The macaroons taste as good as they look!

It seems such a shame to eat these, they're too pretty to look at.

 

I'm hoping to be back on my feet this week so I can go and enjoy the Melbourne Flower Show.

 

What's Your WOW ?